Strategy development

The Child Wellbeing and Poverty Reduction legislation requires the creation of New Zealand's first Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. The Strategy will commit Government to set and report on its actions to improve the wellbeing of all children and young people.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is leading the development of the Strategy, with direction and input from people and groups across New Zealand.

Amendments to the Children’s Act 2014 require the Strategy to set the desired outcomes for our children and young people and the actions to achieve them. It will also clearly outline how progress can be measured and reported on so that we can all see the difference being made and where more work might be needed.

Following an initial scoping exercise, Cabinet agreed on a proposed outcomes framework for the initial Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy as a basis for public engagement. The proposed outcomes framework contains:

A vision statement

Wellbeing domains

Desired outcomes

16 potential focus areas for the first Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy

We recently completed analysis of the public engagement and feedback process. With the support of partner agencies, we heard from more than 10,000 New Zealanders from a range of different backgrounds and experiences, including frontline workers, community groups, NGO’s and local government. In particular, we've made a real effort to hear from children and young people, Māori and iwi groups, and those whose voices are less often heard.

The rich feedback from the engagement, outlined in the ‘Have your Say’: Summary report, builds on insights from previous research and engagement and is helping to shape the direction and content of the first Strategy, due to be published later this year.